Novartis shares rising but challenges remain, WSJ reports

Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan hired Ronny Gal, an outspoken Wall Street analyst, as its chief company strategist to help drive a portfolio remodeling, Jared Hopkins of Wall Street Journal reports. The stock has been rising over the past nine months, largely because of positive study results for drugs including Kisqali for breast cancer and the rollout of cancer radiotherapy Pluvicto, Hopkins points out. However, challenges remain, as Novartis faces declining revenue later this decade, after several products lose patent protection, including heart drug Entresto, the journalist adds.